42-year-old Fernando Alonso is the oldest driver on the current Formula 1 grid. A recent bit of trivia unearthed about the Aston Martin driver reveals a bizarre fact. The details of Alonso’s very first driver’s license have been doing the rounds of Reddit recently.
A picture taken at the #14 driver’s museum in Oviedo shows that he received his first driver’s license in 1985 when he was just four. That license gave Alonso the right to take part in the junior karting series. Since Alonso would turn 44 by the time his latest Aston Martin contract expires, he would have held a driver’s license for over 40 years.
Alonso was given his first go-kart when he was just three. He then went on to win his very first karting race just four years later. After winning the junior karting championships, the Spanish racing ace made the jump to single-seaters in 1999, debuting at the Euro Open by Nissan.
After a stint as a test driver for Minardi in 2000, he made his F1 debut for the team in 2001. The rest as they say is history. Alonso raced in F1 from 2001 to 2018 before he took a short hiatus from 2019 to 2020.
He then made his return to the sport with Alpine in 2021. Therefore, he has raced at the pinnacle of motorsport for 22 illustrious years now. Despite the same, he only has two F1 world championships and 32 Grand Prix wins to his name.
Fernando Alonso looks to break his championship duck with Aston Martin
After two decent seasons with Alpine, where he even stood on the podium on one occasion for the Enstone-based team, Fernando Alonso jumped ship to Aston Martin in 2023. With Aston Martin, Alonso got the closest to breaking his winless streak in the sport that dates all the way back to the 2013 Spanish GP.
Last year, he stood on the podium eight times and got closest to getting his elusive 33rd win at the 2023 Monaco GP. This shows that the Spaniard is still capable of performing at the highest level.
But his commitment to winning again in F1, and his faith in the project at Aston Martin was proved earlier this month when he signed a new multi-year deal with the team. He will now race in F1 with Aston Martin at least until the end of the 2026 season.
Alonso has signaled his intent that he wants to stay with the team till they become championship contenders. With Honda joining forces with Aston Martin from 2026 onwards, a year F1 introduces new regulations, Alonso could have his best moment to win his elusive third title then.
